Chinese Steamed Egg
"I started my culinary career back in high school," says 2025 South Carolina Chef Ambassador Shuai Wang. "Honestly, I got kicked out of my first high school because I didn't go enough—I didn't even know that was a thing."
To make up for lost credits, he chose a culinary class instead of a computer science course. "Culinary just sounded cool," he recalls. "Once I stepped into a kitchen, I was hooked."
It didn't hurt that Anthony Bourdain's “Kitchen Confidential” had just exploded in popularity.
"Bourdain made the cooking world seem like sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll," Shuai says, laughing.
But what started as a rebellious curiosity quickly became something more. Shuai enrolled at the Art Institute of New York City, volunteered at the James Beard House on his days off, and sharpened his skills in the high-pressure kitchens of Manhattan. But eventually, the New York grind wore him down.
"Toward the end of my time in New York, I was working 75-89 hours a week. I looked around and thought: I'm working myself to death. I'm depressed from work, and I'll never afford a house or open a business here. I've worked hard my whole life, and I realized I never wanted to work for anyone else again."
That realization led Shuai and his wife, Corrie, to move to North Charleston, South Carolina, where they launched the food truck Short Grain and quickly earned national acclaim.
"That was our first business, and where we got the most accolades—our James Beard nomination, Bon Appétit Top 50 Best New Restaurants and an Eater award. It was kismet."
Despite the attention, accolades were never the goal. "For me, cooking has always been more about the hospitality than the food," Shuai says. "Even when someone else cooks for me, I don't care what the dish is—what matters is that they put their heart into it."
Born in Beijing and raised in Queens from the age of nine, Shuai grew up in a household where food was a language of love, especially during the holidays. "You're surrounded by family, making dumplings together—it just brings people together," he says. "Serving someone a meal that means so much to you personally, especially dishes from another culture that you might not have experienced before, but you know I'm putting my heart into it, so I'm presenting that to you and feeding you. That's what's most important. That's the biggest reason why I cook."
Shuai's approach has always defied rigid definitions. "You always hear that America is a melting pot. I feel that way about food," he says. "I never cook strictly within the box of a cuisine. There are so many techniques out there—it feels like a missed opportunity not to combine them and explore new avenues."
That belief plays out daily at his two Charleston restaurants: Jackrabbit Filly and King BBQ. While King BBQ reimagines Chinatown flavors through a Southern smokehouse lens, Jackrabbit Filly is described as "heritage-driven Chinese American," blending the flavors Shuai grew up with in Beijing and Queens.
"The food I grew up with is very different than what I saw here," he says. "I'd never even seen broccoli before I moved to the States. So, the menu at Jackrabbit Filly is inspired by recipes from my mom and grandma—things passed down to me, with little tweaks."
One of his favorite dishes to make is Chinese steamed egg, a dish he's been eating his whole life.
"My mom and grandma always made steamed eggs," Shuai says. "It evokes memories and feelings for me, and it's something I really wanted to showcase."
Every Asian culture has its version of steamed eggs. Koreans enjoy gyeran-jjim, Japanese have chawanmushi, and Chinese call it zhēng dàn—simply steamed egg. Usually eaten for breakfast and topped with sesame oil and Chinese fried dough, it can also be garnished with crab meat, shrimp, clams or ground pork for dinner.
"Back in China, food was rationed. Half of the dish is water—you're stretching just a couple of eggs for a whole family," he explains.
While Chinese flavors ground his cooking, Shuai integrates French techniques, and Mexican, Indian and Italian influences often surface—echoes of the diverse kitchens and colleagues that have shaped him.
While Shuai's menus showcase his heritage, they are also rounded in the ingredients of the Lowcountry. He has worked with local farmers since his food truck days—one of the longest-standing relationships being with Fili-West Farms, owned by Nathan and Ghie Boggs.
"We've been working with Shuai and Corrie since their food truck days," says Nathan. "When we heard they were opening Jackrabbit Filly, we were excited to be a part of it."
The couple, who met in the Philippines, spent a year living in Charleston before reading Michael Pollan's "The Omnivore Dilemma" and deciding to leave the city and start their own farm in Vance, SC. As a "Fili-Western" couple—a term used to describe the union of a Filipino or Filipina with someone from the Western world—they decided to name their farm Fili-West Farms.
While Ghie's parents were farmers, Nathan didn't grow up farming. In fact, his professional background had no connection to agriculture.
"I wasn't doing anything I felt passionate about," says Nathan. "I thought I was going to fly helicopters in the Army. But around that same time, I came across Polyface Farms through a TED Talk, and I was fascinated by what this powerful little farm was doing."
Always drawn to physical pursuits like bodybuilding and gymnastics, his interest in fitness led him to realize how nutritionally empty bodybuilding diets—and the standard American diet—are. That, in turn, led to the realization that nutrients are being depleted from farmland. Eventually, he decided that rather than complaining, he would become part of the solution.
Inspired by Joel Salatin's “You Can Farm,” Boggs employs regenerative farming techniques, rotating their pasture-raised chickens for eggs and meat using mobile caravans. These practices enrich the soil and promote the health of the animals.
"We're all interdependent," Nathan says. "That was one of the big early lessons in farming, and I've leaned into that over the years."
Nathan decided to let technology and innovation work in their favor. Fili-West's eggs are gathered daily from conveyor belts inside the caravans—a system that blends industrial efficiency with ethical care. Each caravan can produce about 450 eggs a day.
"The chickens get fresh forage, we get better eggs and the land gets fertilized naturally," Nathan explains. "It's a healthier animal, a healthier egg and soil that gets better year in and year out."
Eventually, Nathan says he would like to be a teacher or maybe even write a book. For now, he's focused on "being a valuable servant to his community."
"When I think about Charleston cuisine now, it's more sustainable," Nathan says. "It keeps the money in the local food house. It feeds our families something delicious and wholesome. That's what matters."
For Shuai, that connection to local farms like Fili-West isn't just about sourcing—it's about being rooted.
"I love Charleston," he says. "The best things in my life have happened here. I got married here. My wife and I bought our first home. We opened our first business here. All the best things started in Charleston for me."
Based in North Charleston's Park Circle neighborhood, Shuai says being selected as a Chef Ambassador for South Carolina is a full-circle moment. "It's such a big honor," he says. "This neighborhood is very family-oriented, really walkable. It takes me five minutes to walk to work. And I think that's really, really nice."
From dumplings shared around the family table to eggs gathered on pasture in Vance, Shuai's food reflects not just where he's from, but where he's chosen to stay. In his hands, the American melting pot isn't just an idea. It's breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Chinese Steamed Egg
“My grandma raised me and she's one of my favorite people in the whole entire world. When I serve things like this is the hope that makes her proud.”
Ingredients
6 Eggs
water - same volume as eggs
dashi - same volume as eggs
2 tsp sesame oil
8 shrimp
For Garnish
4 oz lump crab
Finely chopped chives
Julienned shiso
Soy dashi
Additional toppings as desired
Note: You will need a pot (or wok) with a lid, a heat-proof dish and something to prop the dish above water, like a metal steam rack or a clean metal can. You can also use a double boiler, a bamboo steamer or an electric steamer if the lid can still close over the ramekins.
Instructions
Add eggs to a liquid measuring cup and note the volume.
Note: Six large eggs equal approximately one cup plus three tablespoons in volume (250 mL + 45 mL).
Scramble eggs, then mix with sesame oil, water and dashi until well combined. Strain the egg mixture through a fine strainer.
Carefully pour the egg mixture into four ramekins and garnish with two shrimp each.
Boil the water in your steamer, then carefully place the ramekins in the steamer, cover and steam on high for 4 minutes.
After 4 minutes, turn the steamer off and leave the ramekins in the covered steamer for an additional 14 minutes.
Remove from the steamer and garnish with fresh lump crab, finely chopped chives and julienned shiso and a splash of soy dashi.
Serve over rice if desired.
Bon appétit!
